Bridgestone, the Japanese tyre manufacturer, warned investors of a 26 per cent drop in net profits this year after it recalled 6.5 million tyres across North America because of safety concerns.

The company will record a 37.2 billion yen extraordinary loss on a consolidated basis in the year to December, bringing net profits from the 90 billion yen forecast announced less than two weeks ago to 67 billion yen. Net profits last year were 88.7 billion yen.